The present invention relates to a tiered rack assembly, and in particular to a modular tiered rack assembly for displaying and merchandising consumer products. A rack assembly should be understood to be an arrangement of racks or channel components for supporting merchandise.
EP-0 295 869 B discloses a modular tiered rack assembly for merchandising flat or flat packed products. That assembly features a hanging means comprising an extruded profile (or pressing) which is shaped so as to connect a first (or starter) `J` shaped rack component to slotted wall panelling. The extrusion connects to a hook-over detail on the longer leg of the `J` shaped rack and its dog-legged shaped back connects to routed slots in the slotted wall panels thus providing the hanging means for the first or starter rack.
The second rack connects to the first rack by means of the same hook-over detail and so on for as many tiers as are required for a particular merchandising situation. The multi-tiered assembly is kept spaced apart from the wall surface by means of removable support rods which attach to the back of the rack components by means of receiver sockets while the racks are suspended from the first hanging means.
While this known structure is ideal for lightweight products such as greeting cards, hosiery etc. it has been found to be less than satisfactory for heavier products such as magazines, picture frames etc. and particularly as larger capacity racks are required by the market place, thus increasing the load factor considerably.
Furthermore, the known rack system, which is designed for hanging from slotted wall panels is not ideally suitable for hanging on modular metal shelving equipment which is used extensively throughout the shopfitting and retail industries, particularly in the supermarket, convenience and forecourt market sectors.
Modular metal shelving equipment generally comprise
(a) box or tube section slotted metal upright structural members (hereinafter referred to as the structure) spaced at various intervals from 500 mm to 1500 mm centre to centre apart and varying in height from 500 mm to 3000 mm; PA1 (b) box section or pressed metal base leg support members connecting to the base of the metal uprights to create a stable structure, either L shape for single sided wall located units or inverted T shape for double sided free-standing "gondola" type structures; PA1 (c) metal, timber or hardboard back infill panels interconnecting with the tubular uprights by various fixing means; and PA1 (d) pressed metal shelves bracketed to connect to slotted uprights at required locations anywhere along the height of the uprights. PA1 a. to carry heavier loading than is possible with the known rack assembly structure. PA1 b. to introduce larger capacity racks to the rack assembly range of profiles. PA1 c. to connect the rack system to the all known modular metal shelving equipment predominant in the retail marketplace. PA1 d. to retain the modular versatility in use of the original rack system. PA1 e. to eliminate the problems associated with socket and rod type supports (e.g.--weak back panels, loss of rods, breakages of sockets and the like.
The components of these shelving systems are modular and generally connect together, with minimum use of tools or expertise.